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- The Amarok’s V6 engine was first used in the Audi A6/A7 mid-size sedan and hatchback in 2014. Other models to use it include the Audi A4 small sedan and Q7 seven-seat SUV, as well as the Porsche Cayenne Diesel. Look around the engine and you see many Audi logos adorning it. We’re getting the top-spec tune of it; there’s two other lesser tunes for European versions producing significantly less power.
- The Amarok introduces two matte colours to the Volkswagen palette; Ravenna Blue and Indium Grey. Both are also available in metallic finishes if you’re worried about how to get bird poo stains off the satin-look finish.
- Do the 14-way electric leather seats in the Amarok look familiar? They should; they’re already used in the Volkswagen Passat mid-size sedan and wagon, where they do a wonderful job of taking the edge off long-distance hauling.
- The bloke who headed up the Amarok’s makeover – Albert-Johann Kirzinger – also holds several international patents for designing Volkswagen car keys.
- The special 20-inch alloy wheels on the Amarok are designed to have as much shiny metal as close to the hub and rim a possible, giving the impression the wheels are much bigger than they are. While researching for the facelift, designers visited the US where blinged 24-inch-plus rims are commonplace.
- Volkswagen will sell two four-cylinder versions of the Amarok alongside two V6-engined Amaroks when the facelifted models launch late this year. They can do that only because Australia doesn’t have the same vehicle emissions targets as Europe, where the dirtier four-cylinder engine will be banned from sale. Australia was to have introduced the same emissions targets in 2019, but has since decided to leave their adoption open-ended. Australia joins South America and South Africa as regions where the less clean four-pot can stay on sale.
- Volkswagen has changed the physical properties of the material that it sprays in the Amarok’s tub to protect it. Instead of having a rubbery surface that would stop things sliding in, the black spray-on coating used is now plastic. You have to pay extra for it, though.
- When you buy a Volkswagen Amarok from the carmaker, you’re buying it from a separate company to the one that sells passenger cars. The Amarok falls under Volkswagen Commercial, the division of the brand that also sells the Transporter and Caddy vans, Caravelle people mover, the more upmarket Multivan people mover, and the Crafter light truck.
- Volkswagen has already had the most expensive trade ute on sale in Australia. The special edition VW Amarok TDI420 Ultimate was priced from $65,290 when it launched in 2014. It sold well: two of every five Amarok models rolling out of showrooms has been a high-spec Highlander or above.
- Think the Amarok Aventura is expensive? Volkswagen Commercial has the most expensive passenger car in the whole Volkswagen showroom. The Multivan Business has a hand-stitched leather dash and seats from a Bentley, with VW catering the vehicle to buyers who believe that space equates to luxury. VW once ran the numbers on bringing it here, and struggled to get it below A$150,000.
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